CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 13-1 at home with a 126-114 victory Thursday night over the Denver Nuggets, who wasted a triple-double by Nikola Jokic.

The Cavs made a season-high 22 3-pointers and extended their streak of making at least 10 3s to a club record 28 games dating to last season.

Cleveland outscored Denver 66-18 from behind the arc.

Jokic had 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists, giving him his 139th career triple-double — one more than Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Jokic only trails Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200) on the career list.

Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench, Evan Mobley scored 20 and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which improved to 5-0 against Western Conference teams.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 and Jamal Murray 19 for the Nuggets.

Takeaways

Nuggets: Didn't do nearly enough on the defensive perimeter to slow down the Cavs, who had nine 3-pointers in the first quarter while opening a 12-point lead.

Cavaliers: Displayed their offensive versatility with a strong deep shooting game and inside muscle to offset the fabulous Jokic.

Key moment

The Nuggets were still within nine in the final three minutes before Mitchell and LeVert drained consecutive back-breaking 3s. ... Also, a fan won $10,000 for making a halfcourt shot between the third and fourth quarters.

Key stat

Now in his 10th season, Jokic is averaging a career-high 37.6 minutes per game. Coach Michael Malone acknowledged the challenge in trying to win games while also resting the three-time league MVP. “We've all got to make sure we don't run him into the ground,” Malone said.

Up Next

The Nuggets visit the two-win Wizards on Saturday. The Cavaliers have back-to-back weekend games against Charlotte and Miami.

Necas, Svechnikov lead Hurricanes to 5-3 win over Avalanche

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Martin Necas had a goal and an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 on Thursday night to snap a season-high three-game losing streak.

Andrei Svechnikov had a goal and three assists for his first career four-point game, and Eric Robinson, Seth Jarvis and Jack Roslovic also scored for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov had 17 saves for his first victory since Nov. 20.

Valeri Nichushkin had two goals and Artturi Lehkonen also scored for Colorado. Cale Makar had two assists and Scott Wedgewood stopped 29 shots in his first start with the Avalanche.

Necas, who leads the NHL in points, had a power-play goal with 2:11 remaining to push Carolina's lead to 4-2. After Nichushkin's second goal of the night pulled Colorado back within one 24 seconds later, Svechnikov sealed the win with an empty-netter with 16 seconds to go.

The Hurricanes went 2 for 5 on the power play, with Necas scoring on the man advantage for the second straight game.

Takeaways

Avalanche: There has been a knack for comeback victories, and there was a glimmer of hope for their eighth rally in the past month. However, other than breakaways, there weren’t an abundance of chances.

Hurricanes: The Hurricanes got the bounce-back they needed after a loss Tuesday to Seattle. Putting 28 shots on goal across the first two period was a good tonic.

Key moment

The Hurricanes killed off more than 2 1/2 minutes of a power play, including Colorado’s 5-on-3 for 36 seconds, early in the third period to maintain a two-goal lead.

Key stat

The Avalanche have allowed four or more goals in six of their last seven games.

Up Next

Avalanche visit Detroit on Saturday, and Hurricanes visit the New York Islanders.

Rookie QB Bo Nix weathers a tough start and has Broncos in position to end a long playoff drought

DENVER (AP) — This figured to be a season filled with plenty of growing pains for the Denver Broncos and rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

Maybe early. Not so much now.

All Nix has done lately is win weekly awards and break franchise marks. He has put his team in position to end a long playoff drought and himself in the running for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

The Broncos (8-5) hit their bye week in the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC. The late-season break couldn’t come at a better time, either — a chance to rest up for the home stretch run as Denver tries to make the postseason for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 to close out the 2015 season.

The week off arrives at an inconvenient time, too, simply because the Broncos have been rolling in winning three straight.

“A good week of rest, good week of just kind of (getting) a reset,” explained Nix, whose TD passes (17), yards passing (2,842) and wins (eight) are the most in Broncos history for a rookie QB. “We’re going for a playoff spot. We’re going for longer in the season. So it’s going to be good for us.”

Denver currently has a 77% probability of making the playoffs, according to the NFL. Right out of the break, though, is a pivotal home game against Indianapolis (6-7), a team right on its heels.

“I think the guys are going to enjoy” the bye week, said Nix, who was selected the offensive rookie of the month for October. “But we’re also going to be excited to get back and finish this thing out the right way.”

For Nix and the Broncos, the season started out rough at 0-2. That included a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were relying on Justin Fields at the time as Russell Wilson — the QB the Broncos released in the offseason — was banged up.

Nix didn't throw his first TD pass until Week 4.

The following week in a win over Las Vegas, there was a feisty sideline exchange between Payton and Nix. It seemed to galvanize their relationship.

“He turned and looked at me and said, ‘I love you,’ and I turned to him and said, ‘I love you back,’” recounted Nix, who was the 12th overall pick out of Oregon and sixth QB off the board.

Payton referred to Nix as the movie character Ferris Bueller, explaining, “Ferris is kind of quirky and doing his own thing once in a while."

Nix has closed the gap in the rookie of the year race. Washington's Jayden Daniels remains the favorite, according to BetMGM, but Nix has the next-best odds.

His highlight moment may have been a 93-yard touchdown connection with Marvin Mims Jr. in a 41-32 win over Cleveland on “Monday Night Football.” Nix was about 4 yards deep in his end zone on third-and-11 and lined a pass some 46 yards between defenders to hit Mims in stride as the receiver raced down the field.

It’s not all "The Bo Nix Show.” The defense has done its part, too. Linebacker Nik Bonitto has 11 sacks this season, becoming the first Broncos player to record double-digits since Von Miller (14 1/2) and Bradley Chubb (12) in 2018.

There's also Pat Surtain II, who was the AFC defensive player of the month. The last time a Broncos cornerback earned that award was Pro Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey in October 2006.

The defense, though, was put on notice by Payton after the Browns game. Payton wasn’t pleased that Jameis Winston threw for a Browns-record 497 yards or that ex-Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy had a career-best 235 yards receiving. Denver was without Riley Moss (knee) and the defense did come up big with three interceptions, including a pair of picks returned for scores.

“We are going to look at a lot of things defensively that we would have done differently,” explained Payton, whose team follows the Colts game with two on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati before hosting Kansas City. “I told them in the locker room that it was not pretty, and yet in the end we did what we had to do, especially late.”

The Broncos recently made a roster move as they waived veteran receiver Josh Reynolds, who’s been on injured reserve after breaking his finger in Week 5. It’s an indication the Broncos have faith in a youthful receiving corps that includes Mims, Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin. There’s also veteran Courtland Sutton, who has become Nix’s go-to target. Sutton has 846 yards receiving as he tries to turn in his second 1,000-yard season (1,112 in 2019).

“We’re a confident bunch right now,” Sutton said. “We’re playing aggressively. We’re playing together. We’re playing with a little bit of confidence and a chip on our shoulder. (We are) just trying to continue to prove not only to other people, but to ourselves that we have a really good football team.”

Two-way star Travis Hunter is Big 12's top defender, and Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders best on offense

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Colorado two-way standout Travis Hunter was named the Big 12 defensive player of the year, and Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was picked as the top offensive player in a vote of the league’s coaches released Thursday.

Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, the 34-year-old in the second season at his alma mater, was tabbed the coach of the year. The Sun Devils (10-2) made their league debut this season and will play in the Big 12 championship game against Iowa State on Saturday. They already have a school-record improvement with seven wins more than last year.

Hunter, one of the leading Heisman Trophy candidates, is the first player in Big 12 history to have both an interception and an offensive touchdown in multiple games.

As a defensive back, Hunter has four interceptions and 11 pass breakups. As a receiver, he leads the Big 12 with 92 catches and 14 touchdowns. He has 1,152 yards receiving, and ranks third in the league with 96.0 yards per game.

Sanders is the Big 12’s leading passer with 327.2 yards per game. He has completed 337 of 454 passes (74.2%) for 3,926 yards and a school-record 35 touchdowns for the Buffs (10-2).

Arizona State sophomore receiver Jordyn Tyson (75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns), who will miss the Big 12 championship game because of an unspecified injury, was named the named the offensive newcomer of the year. Colorado defensive end BJ Green II, with 7 1/2 sacks, was named the top defensive newcomer.